When it comes to exercise, is walking the best way to fitness?

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Question: My doctor says I should be exercising regularly. She has urged me to go for a brisk 30-minute walk, five times a week. I know she is right about my need to get moving. But is walking the best type of exercise?

Answer: The best exercise is the one that you will do and keep doing. You could likely achieve your fitness goals through a host of different activities, including jogging, cycling, swimming or even dancing. Many doctors recommend walking because it’s something that most people can carry out.

“It’s a simple and accessible all-purpose activity,” says Dr. Paul Oh, medical director of the cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation program at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

“You can walk inside or outside and easily fit it into your day. All you need is a decent pair of shoes.”

Don’t underestimate the power of walking just because it’s not the latest fitness fad. Scientific evidence suggests that walking can have a profound influence on your overall health.

“Walking really is a good thing to do,” says Dr. Murray Waldman, a hospitalist at St. John’s Rehab, a division of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

But to reap the potential benefits, you need to walk at a fairly fast clip. The resting heart rate for the average adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. “Basically, you want get over 100,” Waldman says. This means walking at a pace that makes you feel a bit short of breath.

You can spread out your walking in a variety of ways. The general exercise recommendations for healthy adultscall for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity. Your doctor has suggested breaking it up into 30-minute periods, five times a week. You can do it in more frequent shorter periods, if that’s convenient for you.

Of course, you could walk more. In fact, if you want to lose weight, you’re unlikely to meet your goal by just walking the basic recommended amount. “Walking 30 minutes is associated with burning 250 calories,” which equates to 1,250 calories per week, explains Dr. Oh. “To really lose weight, you need to burn 3,500 calories per week per pound. So, you would have to walk a whole lot.”

You should also be aware that what you do when you’re not exercising also has a big impact on your health.

In particular, a growing body of research points to the dangers of prolonged periods of inactivity – essentially sitting. Many people now sit all day at work, then go home and sit in front of the television for much of the evening. Uninterrupted bouts of sitting can undermine your health – even if you are getting the recommended amount of weekly exercise.

Sitting for 30, 60 or 90 minutes at a time is associated with an elevated risk of early death from all causes in individuals who are sedentary for an average of 12 to 13 hours a day, according to a recent study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and other institutions.

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3 comments

Mike FraumeniSeptember 19th, 2017 at 10:20 am

Excellent advice. Fits in well with this which some might find interesting. — “People who exercise later in life may better protect their brain from age-related changes than those who do not, a study suggests.” http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/exercise-231012

Great information. I often find it useful to discuss pace and conversation, especially for people who walk with a friend, as many seem to not get the “brisk” idea. I usually suggest walking at a speed that makes it a little more difficult to complete a sentence.

No question that walking is the most convenient exercise and has all the benefits as listed in this article. There is however a risk of aggravating the back problem, if it already exists. People with spinal stenosis, recurrent sciatica like pain and those who have undergone back surgery are better off doing non weight bearing exercise which does not load the spine such as bicycling and swimming. Stationary bicycling can replace outdoor bicycling in bad weather or can be done year round. Some back issues can be handled by using a corset when walking or in more physically demanding daily activities and gardening etc. It is advisable that patients consult their rehab specialist preferably a physiatrist before undertaking walking for exercise.

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